Before I identify the montrosity pictured above, let me offer this disclaimer: I do not hate German food. There are some products of German cuisine of which I am rather fond. Potato pancakes, for example. Then, of course, there is linzer torte, spaetzle and bread dumplings. In addition, it's easy to find very good beer in Germany, and both Germany and Austria have a handful of wines that will delight the palate. (This critic at Wine the Blog shares my fondness for Austria's Blaufrankisch.)Having said all of that, let's agree that one doesn't travel to Germany for culinary enchantment. I was reminded of this when reading this article from the current issue of Travel & Leisure. The article offered this not so glowing description of street food in Berlin:
To acclimate ourselves to the city we went directly to Curry 36, a Currywurst Imbiss. For the uninitiated, this iconic Berlin street food -- fried sausage topped with ketchup seasoned with curry powder -- is a creation to behold.
Keep reading.
There is something beautifully, boldly bland to it, an altogether likable badness. For the price of two orders of currywurst with mayonnaise-topped fries, our stomachs were convinced we'd really been to Berlin. And we never had to eat it again.
